UIS softball team sparkling on the diamond

The University of Illinois Springfield softball team wore shorts and sleeveless shirts instead of typical garb during practice Wednesday afternoon, allowing the Prairie Stars to work on their tans while putting in work. The relaxed dress was a reward from coach Mat Mundell for a job well done. The Prairie Stars are well above the .500 mark and have won nine of their 10 games in the last two weeks.

The University of Illinois Springfield softball team wore shorts and sleeveless shirts instead of typical garb during practice Wednesday afternoon, allowing the Prairie Stars to work on their tans while putting in work.

The relaxed dress was a reward from coach Mat Mundell for a job well done. The Prairie Stars are well above the .500 mark and have won nine of their 10 games in the last two weeks.

The year is shaping up to be an exciting one. The Stars lead the eight-team Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division at 9-5, a mark that includes back-to-back sweeps of Missouri S&T and Drury.

UIS is ranked among statistical leaders in the nation and GLVC.

Junior pitcher Brittany Sitton’s six saves are tied for first in NCAA Division II. Gray ranks third in the nation in stolen bases with 29.

The Stars also are among the league leaders as a team.

One way the Prairie Stars are frustrating their opponents is base stealing. UIS ranks seventh in the nation in stolen bases per game (2.88). The Stars have 75 stolen bases in 85 attempts. Gray, who has overcome a quadriceps injury, has been caught stealing only once in 30 attempts.

“We had 48 steals last year,” Mundell said. “We already have 75.

“That’s something we’ve really worked on. We like to put the pressure on the other team.”

Of the 16 GLVC squads, the Stars are tied for second in runs scored (132), third in triples (8) and fifth in RBIs (109). They rank fourth in home runs (16), fielding percentage (.963) and slugging percentage (.411). UIS has the sixth-best team batting average (.270) in the conference.

None of this surprises Mundell.

“We had a great fall with the girls we had coming back and the girls we brought in,” he said. “We knew offense was going to be one of our strengths. We’ve had a plan. We stuck with it and it’s been working for us. It’s still early in the season. We have a lot to go.”

UIS takes a 16-10 overall record into a GLVC doubleheader Saturday at home against Rockhurst. The Stars are on pace to break the single-season school record for victories (18) set in 2006.

In the nine-year history of the program, UIS never has finished with a winning record. The players are hoping that will change this spring.

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They’ve proven they can handle adversity.

“We lost all three of our starting catchers all within a week and we still had someone to come in,” Gradishar said. “We have a lot of flexibility.”

Gradishar leads the Stars’ pitching staff with a 2.01 earned run average. She has a 4-4 record in 52.1 innings. Sitton has a 2.60 ERA with a 5-2 record and 40 strikeouts in 40.1 innings. Senior Aubrey Watson has a 4.92 ERA, 6-3 record and 37 strikeouts in 58.1 innings.

“We’ve switched what we’re doing,” Mundell said. “We have a set kind of rotation now that we didn’t have before. We’ve settled Brittany in kind of a closer role for us. She’s done a good job.

“The girls are going into their roles. It’s good to see. Their confidence in the circle really has helped as well.”

With every win, the Stars’ confidence swells.

“I can’t stress that enough,” Mundell said. “The team has come together as a whole. They’ve taken ownership of their season.

“Something we stress every time is battling. We’ve really tried to go up there and really battle whether it’s in our bats, defensively or in the pitching circle.”